This invention relates generally to image processing, and more particularly to managing textures used for image processing applications. Image processing techniques use a variety of methods for manipulating a target image. One image processing technique modifies the target image by applying a texture image to the target image. For example, to provide a “grainy” look to the target image, the image processing application selects a grainy texture and applies the grainy texture to the target image by blending the two together pixel by pixel. The textures may be applied to the entire target image, or may be applied to only a portion of the image. For example, a watermark or copyright notice is applied to a portion of the target image. An instance of the texture fixed to a particular resolution is referred to herein as a canvas.
In typical image processing systems, a canvas is stored as an image file, such as “texture1.bmp.” To apply the texture to an image, the image processing system resizes the standard canvas for the texture to the resolution needed for manipulating the target image. The image resizing process can be expensive, both in memory usage and in processing power. Image processing systems implemented on a mobile device often face hardware constraints on the mobile device's processing and memory relative to other hardware.